Witchy Kingdom

Witchy Eye Series, Book 3

De: D. J. Butler

Narrado por: Courtney Patterson

Season of the witch

An encounter with her father's goddess has not turned out to be the end for Sarah Elytharias Penn. Now, with the Imperial fist tightened around her city of Cahokia and the beastkind of the Heron King ravaging across the river, she must find a way to access the power of the Serpent Throne itself - a feat, she has learned, that her father never accomplished. To complicate her efforts, Cahokia's Metropolitan, a beloved and charismatic priest who despises the goddess as a demon, returns from a long pilgrimage and attempts to finalize the Wisdom-eradicating reform that dogged Sarah's father when he was king.

Meanwhile, Sarah's brother Nathaniel and her brilliant but erratic servant Jacob Hop find their steps dogged by the Emperor's Machiavel, Temple Franklin, as they hunt in New Amsterdam for the third Elytharias sibling. As Simon Sword's destroying storm threatens from the south and west, and New Orleans is thrown into deadly turmoil when a vodoun priest and mameluke assassins contend for ultimate power and control of the Mississippi, the chance for a unified New World teeters on the brink. Sarah Penn understands she may face a hard fate in the final reckoning. But she also knows that only she can access the power of the Throne - if she can find the Wisdom inside to unlock it.

©2019 D. J. Butler (P)2020 Tantor

The third book in the series does not disappoint!!

DJ Butler is a fabulous writer. In this book, and consistently throughout this series, he has created likeable, but deeply flawed characters, fantastical beasts, and world building like no other.

Lost its way

There a cardinal rule about epic stories. They're driven by the characters. The author should never lose sight of that. The reader's emotional attachment is the key element that allows the many, many tangents necessary for the vast story to be interesting and engaging.

Instead of Witchy Kingdom winding tighter, the religious beliefs and ethos of the disparate regions of its universe take precedence. It's more of a dry history lesson than a fascinating adventure. The characters have become two dimensional and in many cases have been 'dumbed down' so things can either be explained (in infinite detail) or, say, get themselves captured. I hate when an author does this. A pity. DJ Butler had a very entertaining story up to this point, but I'm sad to say this book is annoyingly pedantic and takes forever to get anywhere.

Courtney Patterson's narration is excellent throughout.